Michi no shiri fukatsu shimayama shimashiku mo kimi ga me mineba kurushikari keri

道の後深津島山しましくも
君が目見ねば苦しかりけり

Roma-ji: Michi no shiri fukatsu shimayama shimashiku mo kimi ga me mineba kurushikari keri
English Translation: Like the island hill
of Fukatsu in Bingo,
the Far Road's end,
even for a little while,
not seeing you is such pain
Meaning: Like the island hill of Fukatsu in Michi no Shiri, even for a little while, not seeing you is painful indeed.
Commentary: Book Eleven Love Poems Ancient and Modern I 2423

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Expressing Feelings through Things"
Even for a short while, not seeing the beloved is painful, says the poem. A place name in Bingo is set in the upper half, and the sound of its "shima" (island) leads into "shimashiku" (a little while), expressing a love that cannot endure even a brief separation. It may be that the name of a place seen on a journey was tied to the feeling of love.
Speaking through a mountain, this poem continues the mountains of poems 2421 and 2422 just before.
The author is unknown; according to the left note, the poem comes from the Kakinomoto no Hitomaro Collection. That collection is thought to contain both Hitomaro's own poems and poems by others that he recorded. Kakinomoto no Hitomaro was a court poet active in the reigns of Empress Jito and Emperor Monmu, and is counted among the Thirty-Six Immortal Poets.

First line, "michi no shiri": the "rear of the road," the province of Bingo, one of the divisions of the old land of Kibi.
Second line, "fukatsu shimayama": the island hill at Fukatsu in Bingo, in present-day Fukuyama, Hiroshima Prefecture. The first two lines form a preface, and the echo of "shima" leads to "shimashiku mo" in the third line.
Third line, "shimashiku mo": "even for a little while." Turning from the preface by sound, the poem enters its true theme here.
Fourth line, "kimi ga me mineba": "when I do not see you." "Me miru" means to see someone's face, to meet, and "neba" expresses a settled negative condition.
Fifth line, "kurushikari keri": "it is painful indeed." The auxiliary "keri" conveys a feeling newly realized.
Author: Kakinomoto no Hitomaro Collection
Source: Manyoshu
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